Elevated-railway track



(No Model.)

M. J. FERRBN. ELEVATED RAILWAY TRACK.

No. 469,371. Patented Feb. 23, 1.892.

W/ TN 55555 'UNiTED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

MYRON J. FERREN, OF STONEI'IAM, MASSACHUSETTS.

ELEVATED -RAI LWAY TRACK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 469,371, dated February 23, 1892.

Application filed May 2, 1891. Serial No. 391 ,352. (No model.)

to in accordance with'my invention, shall re-.

duce to the minimum the possibilities of de railment of the train; and it consists in the lmprovements which I will now proceed to describe and claim.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 represents a transverse section of an elevated-railway track embodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents a side view of the same with a por-.

tion broken away and shown in section. Fig. 3 represents a section on line 3 3 of Fig. 2, looking downwardly; and Fig. at represents an end View of a portion of the car and one of its trucks and a section view of a portion of the track.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.

In carrying out my inventionI construct an elevated-railway track with two parallel trackrails ct ct, which support the Wheels of the cars,'wooden beams or stringers Z) Z), supporting said rails a a, and horizontal guards or flanges c 0, parallel with and above the rails a a and arranged to project over the carwheels 61 d to prevent upward movement of said wheels, the said guard-flanges c 0 being separated from the rails to a by vertical spaces of width but slightly exceeding the diameter of the car-wheels, so that in the event of a wheel rising from the rail on which it runs the upper portion of said wheel would strike the corresponding guard-flange, so that there could be no considerable separation of either wheel from the rail on which it runs. The guard-flanges c c are rigidly supported in the described relation to the rails a Cb in any suitable way. I prefer to form said flanges upon side plates 0, which are mounted upon the supporting-columns e or any other supporting structures that may be used, said plates 0 being preferably provided at their lower edges with inwardly-projecting flanges 0 on which the rail-supporting beams 17 I) rest, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4. The plates 0' are here shown as supported andheld in place by means of vertical brackets 6, formed on or affixed to the columns 6 and bolted rigidly to I prefer to further strengthenithe structure by means of the transverse tie-rods bolted to the flanges c c and extending across the space between said flanges, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, said rods or bars preventing thetrack from spreading between the columns or supports 6. In connection with the improved track above described I employ car-trucks of novel construction, the hearings or axle-boxes "i being located at the inner sides of the wheels instead of at the outer sides, as heretofore. This arrangement of the hearings or boxes on.- ables the plates 0' of the truck to be located close to the outer sides of the wheels, as shown in Fig. 1.

It is my purpose to use my improved track for electric or cable cars,because the employment of the guardflanges 0 and their supporting-plates a would prevent the use of engines having the usual driving-wheels and connecting-rods. \Vhen electricity isthe motive power, I mount the electric motor upon a platform or support j, attached to the frame 7t of the car-truck, and connect said motor to each of the two axles Z Z of said truck by means of the usual or any suitable gearing, such gearing being well known and requiring no detailed description. shown the axles Z Zas provided with the usual worm-wheels adapted to engage a worm-shaft connected with the motorand actuated there by. One of the wheels cl is loose upon each of the axles, the loose wheel of one axle being In Fig. 3 I have at one side of the truck, while the loose wheel of the other axle is at the opposite side of the truck. In Fig. 3 I show the loose wheels as partly broken away, their central portions being shown in section. The. other wheels are rigidly attached to the axles, as usual. It will be seen that this arrangement gives the truck the desired traction or extended bearing on the track, and at the same time enables the wheels to run upon curves in the track with much less friction than would be experienced it all the Wheels were rigidly attached. The arrangement of one loose wheel at one side of the track and the other at the opposite side and the connection of the motor to both axles enable the same traction to be exerted upon both rails of the track. I provide at the ends of the car downwardlyprojecting arms 0 1', which are preferably provided with rollers s 5. These rollers project under the guard-flanges c' as a meausfor preventing derailment of the car in case of breakage of the king-bolt M, Fig. 4, the arms 9 being attached to the body of the car, so that the bearing of the rollers s on the flanges 0 will prevent the car from tipping sidewise. The arms r may be rigidly attached to the car; but I have here shown them as formed on a rock-shaft- 'r, journaled in bearings on the car, so that the rollers s 8 may be pressed upwardly against the guard-flanges by any suitable means I have here shown vertical shafts 25 ion the car-platforms adapted to be rotated by the brakemen andconnected by chains u u with the rock-shafts r r, so that by winding the chains on said shafts t the rollers s 3 may be forced upwardly against the guard-flanges and there held by any suitable locking devices, such as ratchets on the shafts t t and dogs on the car-platform. Instead of the rollers s s the arms 7'' may have'fixed or non rotating projections for the purpose above de-- scribed. It will be seen that the side plates 0', arranged close to the outer sides of the carwheels, effectually prevent the loose wheels from coming off from their axles, so that the loose wheels are not a source of danger in this respect. Suitable means will of course be provided to retain the loose Wheels on the axles; but as the connection of a loose wheel to its axle cannot under any circumstances be as reliable as the usual connections between a wheel and axle when they turn together the advantage of the plates 0 as described.

2. In a railway track or structure, the combination of the plates 0, having inwardlyprojecting flanges c and c at theirupper and lower edges, the track-supporting beams on the lower flanges c and the track-rails on said beams, all arranged substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of the supporting-columns having the vertical brackets e", the plates 0' c, bolted to said brackets and provided with the guard-flanges c c, the trackrails located at the inner sides of the plates below the guard-flanges, and the transverse bars connecting the plates 0 0 between the columns, as set forth.

4. A car-truck having'the axle boxes or bearings located between or at the inner sides of the wheels, combined with a track comprising the track-rails, the stringers to which they are attached, the guard-flanges above the track-rails, and the flange supports or plates outside of the track-rails and extending under and connected to said stringers, as set forth.

5. The combination, with the track having the fixed guard-flanges above the track-rails, of a car having arms or projections arranged under said guard-flanges, as set forth.

6. A car-truck having two axles, each of which has one loose'and one fast wheel, the loose wheel of one axle being at the opposite side of the truck from the loose wheel of the other axle, combined with a track having side guards projecting above the plane of the tread-surfaces of the rails arranged to prevent the loose wheels from coming'olf their axles, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 24th day of April, A. D. 1891. 1

MYRON J. FERREN.

Witnesses:

GEO. H. CHANDLER,

A. D. HARRISON. 

